BEFORE YOU CONTACT US
Please be aware that Kentucky Historic Institutions is not affiliated with any governmental office in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
We are a history website and we cannot process any requests for HISTORICAL records that are not at least FIFTY YEARS OLD. If you are a private or public agency (e.g. mental health, private practice, etc.) please do not request records for your clients or patients. Due to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), protected health information will never be available from this website.
To learn more about this website and our mission, please visit the Welcome/Getting Started link.
Are You Seeking Records?
Effective June 29, 2021, only “residents of the Commonwealth” may request to inspect public records. KRS 61.872(3). “Residents of the Commonwealth” include individuals residing in the Commonwealth, domestic business entities with a location in the Commonwealth, foreign business entities registered with the Kentucky Secretary of State, individuals that are employed and are working at a location in the Commonwealth, and any individual or business entity representing one of these residents. KRS 61.870(10). “News-gathering organizations,” which are specifically defined in KRS 189.635(8)(b), may also request to inspect public records under the Act. Please visit here for an important update regarding Open Records Requests.
Have a question or comment? Submit them below!
Please do not submit any personal information such as dates of birth, addresses, or social security numbers in inquiries.
We now have a guide to help you obtain historical medical/health records. Please click this link or click the “Records” link within our website.
Are you interested in using any of our information? We are happy to accommodate requests. Common requests often include: use for blogs and/or websites, media use, as well as school and non-profit use. Secondary and post-secondary students do not need to get permission from KHI so long as proper APA/MLA/Chicago/Turabian citations are used. We do not own all of the copyrighted information on this website; the appropriate owners, authors, contributors, and any other copyright holders retain any applicable rights under the law. Public domain information/text/media do not require approval to use from KHI. For Creative Commons licensing information, please scroll to the bottom of our disclaimer page.
Searching for Historical Records?
We now have a guide to help you obtain historical medical/health records. Please click this link or click the “Records” link within our website.
We have a limited number of historical records available. The majority of these have been transcribed and posted in the appropriate links on this website. If you would like physical copies of records, we can guide you on the process of obtaining those records. Please remember that not all records are available. KHI has no control over the availability of records.
As of 2019, we will not have access to death records after the year 1960. That means if the patient or inmate died in one of Kentucky’s state hospitals or institutions AFTER 1960, we will not be able to access any vital statistics. The good news is that we can provide you with information on how to obtain these records from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. This is contingent upon record availability which we have no control over.
Kentucky Historic Institutions 